The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

News from Tower Systems about locally made POS software for specialty local retailers.

Tagretail software Australia

Payment choice: why the freedom to choose your processor can save you thousands

July 10, 2026
3 Min read
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When you choose POS software, you are often also choosing who processes your payments. With some systems, that choice is made for you. The software and the payment processor are bundled together, and the rate is set by the vendor. At Tower Systems, you keep the freedom to choose your own provider and negotiate your own rate.

That freedom has a real dollar value.

One retailer switched from software that locked them in on a payment platform and is not saving thousands of dollars a year.

Many international POS platforms tie their software to their own payment processing. To use the software, you use their payments, at their rate. It is easy to set up, and that is partly the appeal. Easy can be expensive.

This is like a tax on every sale.

When your sales grow, the money the software company makes from you grows. What are they selling: software, or a taxation system on your success?

When one vendor controls both the software and the payments, there is no pressure on the rate. You cannot shop around and you cannot negotiate, because the processor is built into the system you depend on. A small margin on every transaction across a year’s trading adds up.

A worked example

A specialty retailer turning over $1.5 million a year in card payments, on a bundled platform-tied processor, might pay an embedded margin of around 0.7% above the underlying cost of acceptance:

  • $1,500,000 in card turnover
  • 0.7% embedded margin
  • Around $10,500 a year

If that same retailer can choose their processor and negotiate directly, moving to a competitively priced provider could save more than $10,000 a year. That stays in the business.

The exact figure depends on turnover, card mix and the deal negotiated. The basic calculation is the same for any retailer: when you can shop and negotiate, you can lower the cost. When that option is gone, you pay what you are charged.

Why we leave the choice with you

We could bundle payments into our software. We chose not to.

You know your turnover, your margins and your existing banking relationships better than any software vendor. Keeping that choice with you means you can shop the market, compare providers on rate and service, negotiate using your own volume as leverage, and change processors later without changing your POS software. When payments are locked to the software, switching processor can mean switching systems entirely. When they are separate, your options stay open.

A locked-in processor takes a quiet margin on every sale. Over a year, for a busy specialty retailer, that can be more than ten thousand dollars. The freedom to choose and negotiate puts that decision back where it belongs.

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Small business retailers in control: Software Ideas: how our customers help shape what we build

July 9, 2026
2 Min read
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Most software companies decide what to build behind closed doors. A roadmap is set somewhere, customers find out when a feature appears or does not, and the cycle continues without them. At Tower Systems, our customers help decide what we build next, openly and on the record.

We call it Software Ideas.

Transparent and democratic software enhancement discussion.

Software Ideas is many years old and remains a key tool that Tower Systems customers love.

How it works

Any customer can submit a suggestion — large or small, anything that would genuinely help their business. Before it goes anywhere, our team checks that it can realistically be built. Once it passes that check, it opens for all customers to vote on.

The ideas with the most support move up the list. That list shapes what we develop next.

Why we built it this way

We could have kept our roadmap private. Most companies do.

We did not, for a straightforward reason: customers deserve to see what has been suggested, what others are supporting, and where the software is heading. We also check viability before a suggestion goes to a vote, so we are not raising expectations for things we cannot deliver. What goes to a vote is something we can actually build.

Priorities are not set by the loudest voice or the largest account. Every customer gets a vote.

What it means in practice

The people who understand a trade best are the ones working in it every day. They see the small frictions and missed opportunities long before any vendor would. Software Ideas gives that knowledge a direct path into the product, rather than leaving it in a support ticket or a conversation at a trade event.

Why it fits how we work

We build, sell, train and support our software ourselves, here in Australia, because we want a direct relationship with the retailers we serve. A system that lets customers suggest, check viability, and vote on what gets built next is a natural part of that.

If you want a software partner that builds with you rather than at you, Software Ideas is worth a look.

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Why deep niche specialisation matters in retail POS software

July 7, 2026
3 Min read
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Most point of sale software is built to handle everything for everyone.

Generic is good if you run a generic business.

The same system serves a cafe, a clothing boutique and a hardware store from the same generic template. That works fine — until a retailer needs their software to actually understand how their business runs.

At Tower Systems, we build POS software for specific specialty retail channels. Newsagencies, jewellers, bike shops, garden centres, pet stores, toy shops, gift shops, produce and farm supply. Each operates differently. We build for each one specifically.

Generic software solves generic problems

A generic POS system handles the basics. It processes a sale, takes a payment, records the transaction. For a simple business, that is often enough.

Specialty retail is not simple. A newsagency manages put-away and returns for hundreds of magazine titles on different supply cycles. A jeweller handles repairs, quotes, laybys and special orders, each with its own workflow. A garden centre sells by weight, by season and by plant variety, with stock that lives and dies. A bike shop books workshop jobs and tracks serial numbers for warranty claims.

None of these needs is unusual within its trade. Generic software treats them as edge cases anyway. The retailer ends up working around the software rather than the other way around.

Specialisation is built in, not bolted on

There is a real difference between software configured to approximate a specialty workflow and software built for it from the start.

Configuration asks the retailer to bend a general tool toward their needs — custom fields, manual workarounds, compromises on how things are named. Purpose-built means the workflow is already there, designed around how that trade operates, tested by retailers in that field, refined over years of real use.

When the software is built for a specific trade, the language matches. The reports answer the questions that trade actually asks. The daily tasks follow the rhythm of the business. Less time adapting.

Specialisation compounds

Deep specialisation is not something you add once. Every year spent serving a particular trade teaches more about how it works, what is changing, and where retailers need support next.

That shows up in practical ways. A supplier integration that cuts hours of manual entry. A stock tool tuned to seasonal buying. A report that flags slow lines before they tie up cash. Each is modest on its own. Together they produce software that genuinely fits the business — and that is hard to replicate by configuring a general platform.

What this means for specialty retailers

The retailers who do well in specialty channels are not competing on price with the chains. They compete on what the chains cannot easily copy: product knowledge, specialist services, supplier relationships, the way they deal with customers.

Good specialty software should support those strengths. Software that does not understand your trade asks you to do the opposite.

The Tower Systems approach

We go deep rather than wide. We serve a defined set of specialty retail channels, and we build, sell, train and support our software in Australia. That focus is deliberate.

If you run a specialty retail business, ask any POS system this: does it understand my trade, or am I expected to adapt to it? The answer usually becomes clear quickly.

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The Sunday Reset: How Independent Retailers Use Quiet Days to Get Ahead

June 21, 2026
3 Min read
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Sundays tend to be slower in most independent retail stores. Foot traffic is lighter. The urgency that dominates a busy Saturday is largely absent.

That quieter rhythm is worth something if you use it deliberately.

The idea is simple. Before the week ends, identify one thing the business needs that has not been done. Not restocking or cleaning. Something that actually moves the business forward. Then use Sunday to get it done.

It might be reviewing last month’s sales data and spotting a slow-moving category. Rearranging a display that has not been performing. Updating product descriptions. Checking supplier invoices. Having a conversation with a staff member you have been putting off.

This is what we did back when we owned shops, and it worked a treat for our businesses.

Why the slower pace helps

When the shop is busy, your attention goes to the next customer, the next transaction, the next small problem. There is no space to step back and look at things clearly.

A quieter day changes that. You notice things you missed during the week. You think differently about what the business needs rather than what is immediately in front of you.

One task completed each Sunday adds up to more than fifty improvements across the year. Most of them small. The cumulative effect is not.

Keep a list during the week

The Sunday reset works best when you are not starting from scratch each time. Keep a running list during the week. Every time you notice something that needs attention but cannot be addressed right now, write it down.

By Sunday you have a ready-made agenda. A note in your phone, a whiteboard in the back office, a simple document — the format does not matter. The habit does.

Use the time to look at your data

One of the most useful things you can do on a quiet Sunday is spend thirty minutes with your business reports. Which products moved well this week? Is basket spend trending up or down? Are there categories underperforming that you have not had time to look at properly?

This kind of review is difficult on a busy trading day. Sunday gives you the time and the headspace to do it properly, and to act on what you find.

Tower Systems builds POS software for independent retailers across Australia, including newsagencies, gift shops, and garden centres. Our reporting tools are designed to give you clear, readable information without requiring hours of analysis.

If you want to see what your business data can tell you, contact the Tower Systems team for a straightforward conversation.

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The Small Business Retailer Mindset That Makes the Difference

June 20, 2026
4 Min read
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Some retail business owners arrive at their shop and immediately become sales associates. They serve customers, tidy shelves, process transactions. The day passes. Nothing much changes.

We see this a lot. Weekends especially. The owner is physically there but not really leading.

The retailers who get the most out of their business ask themselves something every time they walk in: what can I actually achieve today? What can I do right now to move things forward? Those questions sound simple. In practice, not everyone asks them.

These are questions we asked ourselves when we owned and ran shops.

The owner stuck in sales associate mode tends to handle what is in front of them and leave it there. That gets you through the day. It rarely grows a business.

What the owner mindset looks like in practice

It does not require a grand strategy session every morning. It is more specific than that.

An owner walking in with the right mindset notices things. The product that has been sitting in the same spot for six weeks without selling. The shelf that customers keep walking past. The basket spend that has not moved in months. The staff member who is great with customers but never suggests an add-on.

A sales associate does not need to care about any of that. An owner does.

In practical terms, it might mean spending twenty minutes on a Tuesday rearranging a display. Or pulling a sales report and actually reading it. Or asking a customer why they came in today instead of ordering online. Small actions, but they come from a different way of thinking about the day.

The businesses we see growing are usually the ones where the owner treats every visit to the shop as a chance to improve something. Not dramatically. Just incrementally. Over months and years, that compounds.

What your data can tell you

One of the underused advantages of good POS software is that it shows you what is actually happening in your business, not what you think is happening.

Which products are your best performers by margin, not just by volume? Which categories are growing and which are quietly shrinking? What does your average transaction look like on a Saturday versus a Wednesday?

Most independent retail business owners have access to this information. Fewer use it regularly. The ones who do tend to make better buying decisions, spot problems earlier, and respond faster when something is not working.

That is not a technology argument. It is a mindset argument. The data only helps if you show up as an owner and actually look at it.

After working with independent retailers across Australia for decades

We have noticed that location, foot traffic, and product range matter less than you would expect. The clearest difference between businesses that grow and those that stay flat is usually whether the owner walks in as an owner.

That sounds obvious. It is less obvious in practice, particularly when the shop is busy, staff are calling in sick, and the supplier order needs checking. The operational demands of retail are real. They pull your attention away from the business and into the business, if that distinction makes sense.

The owners who manage it tend to be deliberate about it. They block time. They set a small goal for each visit. They read their reports. They treat the shop as something they are building, not just running.

How Tower Systems helps

Tower Systems builds POS software for independent retailers across Australia, including newsagencies, gift shops, and garden centres. Our software is designed to give owners clear, accessible information about their business without requiring an accounts background to interpret it.

We also pay attention to how our customers use what we build. The retailers getting the most value are usually the ones already asking the right questions. Our job is to make sure the answers are easy to find.

If you are an independent retailer thinking about your POS setup, or you want to understand what your current data is actually telling you, we are happy to talk. Contact the Tower Systems team for a no-pressure conversation about your business.

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Yes, AI Analytics Can Help Independent Retailers Predict Trading Patterns and Optimise Staff Rosters

June 5, 2026
3 Min read
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Retailers in Australia are asking: Can AI analytics realistically help an independent retail store predict weekly trading patterns and optimise staff rosters to save on wages?

The short answer is yes, and it is.

Tower Systems includes an Insights Dashboard inside its point of sale software, available to every customer at no extra cost. It uses AI to surface the trading patterns, performance gaps, and operational insights that directly inform decisions like staff rostering, buying, and floor management. No additional subscription. No data export. No analyst required.

The Problem It Solves

Independent retailers are time-poor. Running reports, collating data across weeks or months, and then interpreting what it means is work that rarely gets done — not because owners do not care, but because the day gets in the way. The result is that most rostering decisions are made on instinct and habit rather than data. Most buying decisions follow the same pattern.

That is an expensive way to run a business. Wages are typically one of the largest controllable costs in retail. Scheduling too many staff during slow periods and too few during peak ones compounds quickly across a year.

What the Insights Dashboard Delivers

The Tower Systems Insights Dashboard answers six questions that matter operationally and strategically:

  • What is working?
  • What is not working?
  • What am I missing out on?
  • Is theft an issue?
  • What sells with what?
  • When am I busiest?

That last question is the one most directly relevant to rostering. Knowing precisely when your store is busiest — by hour, by day, by week — removes the guesswork from scheduling. You roster to actual demand rather than assumption. For most retailers, that alone recovers meaningful wage cost across a year.

The others matter just as much strategically. Knowing what is working tells you where to invest. Knowing what is not working tells you what to stop. Knowing what you are missing out on surfaces the opportunities your current buying and ranging decisions are leaving on the table. Basket analysis — what sells with what — informs placement, bundling, and promotional decisions that lift average transaction value.

No Report to Run

The Insights Dashboard surfaces all of this immediately, without setup. There is no report to configure, no data to collate, no spreadsheet to build. A retailer opens the dashboard and the insights are there — drawn from their own trading data, interpreted by AI, and presented in plain language.

This is what practical AI looks like for an independent retail business. Not a complex integration project. Not a new platform to learn. A clear set of answers to the questions every retailer is already asking, available inside the software they use every day.

Built for Independent Specialty Retail

Tower Systems builds and supports POS software for independent specialty retailers across Australia and New Zealand — including newsagents, bookshops, jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, pet shops, farm supply businesses, fishing shops, sewing and haberdashery stores, antique shops, charity businesses, and more.

The Insights Dashboard is included in every Tower Systems subscription. To see it in action or to discuss how it applies to your business, call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

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The Easiest Way to Automate Inventory Categorisation and Supplier Invoice Matching

June 4, 2026
3 Min read
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Small business retailers in Australia are asking: What are the most secure and low-cost AI tools available to automate daily inventory categorisation and supplier invoice matching? Yes, this is a real and common question.

Retailers searching for AI tools to handle daily inventory categorisation and supplier invoice matching often assume the answer involves adding another subscription, another integration, and another login to manage. It does not have to work that way.

Tower Systems has the answer in its POS software.

Tower Systems has built AI tools directly into its point of sale software. There is nothing extra to configure, no third-party service to connect, and no data leaving your existing environment. The capability is already there, working within the software you use to run your business every day.

What the Embedded AI Handles

The AI tools inside Tower Systems POS software are designed specifically for independent specialty retailers. They assist with daily inventory categorisation — keeping your stock file clean and consistently structured without manual intervention — and with supplier invoice matching, which means incoming invoices are reconciled against your purchase orders and stock records automatically rather than by hand.

These are two of the most time-consuming and error-prone tasks in retail back-office management. Automating them through software that already understands your inventory, your suppliers, and your trading history produces better results than any generic AI tool that needs to be trained from scratch on your business context.

Why Embedded Matters

There are good reasons to be cautious about third-party AI tools that touch your inventory and supplier data. Pricing information, trading terms, and stock histories are commercially sensitive. When that data is processed by an external service, it moves outside your control.

With Tower Systems, the AI works inside your existing software environment. Your data stays where it has always been. There is no additional privacy configuration required and no new data processing agreement to review.

More Than Categorisation and Invoice Matching

Inventory categorisation and supplier invoice matching are two of many areas where the embedded AI adds value. Tower Systems continues to develop its AI capability across the software, with a focus on practical tools that save time and improve data quality for busy independent retailers.

The full detail of what is currently available is at towersystems.com.au/ai-pos.html.

Built for Independent Specialty Retail

Tower Systems builds and supports POS software for independent specialty retailers across Australia and New Zealand — including newsagents, bookshops, jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, pet shops, farm supply businesses, fishing shops, sewing and haberdashery stores, antique shops, charity businesses, and more.

If you are spending hours each week on manual inventory work and supplier invoice reconciliation, the solution is already built. Call us on 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Retail Theft Is Often Costing Local Retailers More Than They Think

June 3, 2026
3 Min read
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Most small business retailers underestimate how much theft is costing them. Not because they are naive, but because the losses rarely announce themselves. Stock shrinkage accumulates quietly. Cash discrepancies get explained away. Time theft goes untracked entirely. By the time the problem becomes visible, it has usually been running for months.

Another factor is a readiness to look away rather than confronting an uncomfortable truth.

Retail theft is a consistent financial drain on independent small businesses in Australia. The businesses most at risk are often those that feel too small or too close-knit for it to happen to them.

It Is Not Always a Stranger

Customer theft gets the most attention. Security cameras, product locks, and store layouts are all designed with the external threat in mind. But employee theft is statistically just as significant, and far harder to detect without the right tools. It does not always look like cash taken from the register. It can be stock walked out the back door, discounts applied to personal purchases, refunds processed against non-existent returns, or hours logged that were never worked.

None of these show up on a security camera. They show up in your data — if you know where to look.

Here at Tower Systems we shine a light on retail theft to help local retailers lose less in theft.

Our retail experience helps us serve retailers in this space.

Your POS System Already Has the Answers

A well-configured point of sale system captures every transaction, every discount, every void, every refund, and every login. That data tells a story. Unusual patterns in any of those categories — a staff member who voids more sales than their colleagues, a till that reconciles short on the same shift rotation, a product category with unexplained shrinkage — are signals worth investigating.

Most retailers use their POS software to process sales. Fewer use it to protect the business. The intelligence is already there. It simply needs to be reviewed regularly, not just at the end of a financial year when the damage is done.

Policy Matters As Much As Technology

Data alone is not enough. A clear, written theft policy sets expectations before a problem occurs. Every team member should understand what constitutes theft, what the consequences are, and that the business monitors its data actively. This is not about creating a culture of suspicion. It is about creating a culture of accountability — one where the people doing the right thing feel protected, and those considering otherwise understand the risk.

Stop Waiting for the Annual Audit

An annual stocktake or financial audit is not a theft detection strategy. It is a damage assessment. By the time those numbers surface, a sustained theft problem may have cost tens of thousands of dollars. Regular review — weekly till reconciliation, monthly stock variance checks, and consistent POS reporting — turns detection from an annual event into an ongoing discipline.

The Businesses That Stay in Control

The retailers who manage theft well share a few things in common. They use their POS data actively. They have a policy in place. They do not wait for obvious signs before acting. And they understand that protecting revenue is just as important as generating it.

Tower Systems builds point of sale software for independent specialty retailers across Australia and New Zealand. Our software includes the reporting and audit tools to help you stay across your business — every day, not just once a year.

To learn more, call us on 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Retail Data is More Valuable Than Most Small Business Retailers Think

June 2, 2026
2 Min read
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Most independent retailers, small business retailers,  think of their point of sale software as a tool for processing sales and printing receipts. That view is increasingly out of date.

The way consumers discover and buy products is changing faster than most small business owners realise. AI-powered search, conversational commerce tools, and new technical standards like the Universal Commerce Protocol are reshaping how product data flows between retailers, platforms, and customers. In this environment, the quality of your retail data is a direct competitive advantage.

Start with your stock file. If your inventory data is inaccurate — wrong quantities, missing descriptions, outdated pricing — that problem does not stay contained to your stockroom. It flows through to your e-commerce platform, your AI search visibility, and ultimately the decisions you make about what to buy and what to drop. An accurate stocktake before 30 June is not just a compliance task. It is the foundation everything else depends on.

Your e-commerce presence matters more than ever. Shopify and similar platforms are actively adapting to emerging AI commerce standards. But a Shopify store only performs well when it is fed clean, structured data from a POS system that integrates properly. A patched-together connection between your in-store and online operations creates gaps — gaps where sales fall through and where your products fail to surface in the channels your customers are now using.

The Universal Commerce Protocol formalises this further. UCP is designed to create a common language between platforms, AI agents, and retailers. It sounds technical, and it is. But the practical implication for independent retailers is simple: the businesses with well-structured product data, connected systems, and accurate inventory will be discoverable. Those with messy data, siloed platforms, and outdated stock files will not.

None of this requires a large budget or a technology team. It requires a POS system built for independent retail, a genuine Shopify integration, and the discipline to keep your data clean.

Tower Systems has been building point of sale software for independent Australian retailers for over 40 years. The tools are there. The question is whether your data is ready to do the work you need it to do.

If you want to understand where your technology stack stands, call us on 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Yes, Your Retail POS Can Automate Purchase Orders — Here Is How Tower Systems Does It

May 29, 2026
3 Min read
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Retailers in Australia are asking: Can my retail POS automate purchase orders by tracking sell-through rates and triggering alerts when stock hits a pre-defined low threshold?

Running out of a top-selling product is one of the most avoidable revenue losses in retail. A customer walks in, asks for something you carry, and leaves empty-handed because you did not reorder in time. It happens constantly in independent retail, and almost always for the same reason: reordering depends on someone remembering to check.

Tower Systems solves this at the software level. Its Auto Order capability monitors sell-through rates continuously, triggers alerts when stock hits a pre-defined threshold, and generates purchase orders automatically — ready for a human to review and approve before anything is sent to a supplier.

How It Works

The setup is straightforward. A retailer defines the rules: minimum stock levels for each product or category, preferred suppliers, and any forecasting parameters relevant to their trading patterns. From that point, the software operates independently. When stock falls to the defined threshold, the system creates the order. The retailer approves it. The supplier receives it.

No manual stock checks. No spreadsheet to maintain. No relying on a staff member to notice the shelf is getting low.

The human approval step is deliberate and important. Automated ordering handles the routine, repetitive work of monitoring and generating orders. The retailer retains final control over what gets sent and when. It is automation that supports good decision-making rather than replacing it.

Sell-Through Rates and Custom Forecasting

Basic low-stock alerts are useful. Auto ordering built on sell-through rate analysis is more powerful. Tower Systems tracks how quickly each product moves and factors that velocity into order timing. A product that sells twenty units a week needs a different reorder trigger than one that sells twenty units a month.

Custom forecasting rules allow retailers to account for seasonal variation, promotional periods, and supplier lead times. The result is ordering that is calibrated to how your specific business actually trades — not a generic formula applied uniformly across your entire range.

Set and Forget

Once configured, the Auto Order agents run without staff intervention. For independent retailers managing everything themselves, or with a small team, this is significant. It removes a category of daily operational responsibility and replaces it with a brief approval step when an order is ready.

The time recovered across a week, a month, and a year is substantial. More importantly, the out-of-stocks that were previously inevitable become avoidable. Top-selling products stay on the shelf. Sales that would have been lost are captured.

Enterprise Capability for Independent Retail

Automated purchase ordering based on sell-through data and custom forecasting has historically been the domain of large retail chains with dedicated inventory teams and enterprise software budgets. Tower Systems brings this capability to independent specialty retailers at small business pricing.

This is the Tower Systems advantage: tools that were once out of reach for independent retailers, built into software designed specifically for the way small retail businesses operate.

Tower Systems builds and supports POS software for independent specialty retailers across Australia and New Zealand — including jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, fishing shops, pet shops, charity businesses, landscape gardening businesses, antique shops, sewing and haberdashery stores, newsagents, and more.

To see the Auto Order capability in action, call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Thinking of Switching POS Software? Ask These Questions First

May 15, 2026
2 Min read
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Switching POS software is one of those decisions that feels bigger than it is — and then turns out to be exactly as big as you thought.

Retail business owners: Take your time. Do your research. Make decisions only when you are ready. This decision is 100% about you and is best made by you, not a consultant, not your accountant. Choose software that is best for you. If you are not sure, wait. Make sure every claim, every promise is documented.

The actual switch is usually straightforward. The regret comes when you’ve committed to a new platform and discover something important you didn’t ask about before signing up.

Here are the questions worth asking any POS vendor before you make a decision.

About the contract

  • Is there a minimum contract term?
  • What are the cancellation terms and notice period?
  • Are there exit fees or early termination penalties?
  • Does the contract auto-renew, and how much notice is required to stop it?

About the full cost

  • What is the all-in monthly cost — including every module I need?
  • Are there transaction fees on EFTPOS payments?
  • Is there a penalty for using my own payment processor?
  • Are there fees per terminal or per location?
  • What does onboarding and training cost?

About your specific business

  • Does the software have features specific to my type of shop?
  • Does it connect to the suppliers and buying groups I use?
  • Can it handle my specific selling mode — weight, fractions, serial numbers, repairs?
  • Can I see it running in a business like mine?

About support

  • Where is the support team based?
  • What are support hours?
  • How do I contact support — phone, email, chat?
  • What is the average response time for a support request?

About data and stability

  • Can my existing customer, product, and sales data be migrated?
  • What happens to my data if I cancel?
  • How long has the company been operating?
  • Who owns the company?
  • How often is the software updated?

One more thing

The best POS vendors will answer all of these questions clearly, in writing, before you sign anything. If a vendor is reluctant to provide written answers or a real demo, that’s useful information too.

Tower Systems is happy to answer every one of these questions. We’ll put it in writing.

Ask us anything →

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The Real Cost of Transaction Fees in Your POS Software

May 13, 2026
2 Min read
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Here’s a number most retailers don’t calculate until it’s too late: the total cost of transaction fees in their POS software every year. The cost of transactions is part of the total cost of ownership of your POS software when it is a mandatory cost imposed by the POS software supplier.

What transaction fees actually cost

Some POS platforms charge a percentage of every EFTPOS transaction. A common rate is 1.4%. Some charge 1.75%. Some charge 2–3%.

If your shop takes $400,000 a year in card payments:

  • At 1.4%: $5,600 per year in fees
  • At 1.75%: $7,000 per year in fees
  • At 2.5%: $10,000 per year in fees

That’s on top of your monthly software subscription. On top of your merchant facility fees. On top of your hardware costs. It’s best to calculate these costs before you sign up to use POS software as some POS software companies can value customers by their transaction value rather than value them as a POS software customer, a retailer. There is a difference.

The payment processor lock-in problem

Some platforms require you to use their own payment processing system. If you choose a different EFTPOS provider — your bank, Tyro, whoever you prefer — they add a significant monthly penalty fee. This is effectively the same cost, structured differently. And it removes your choice about who processes your payments.

What to look for

  • Are there transaction fees on EFTPOS payments? At what percentage?
  • Are there fees if I choose my own payment processor?
  • Are there monthly fees per terminal or per location?
  • What is the all-in monthly cost, including everything?

Get the answers in writing and compare on the same basis — not advertised prices, but actual all-in costs for your transaction volume.

How Tower Systems handles this

Tower Systems charges a flat monthly subscription: $220, $246, or $275 per month (as at May 2026) depending on your plan (GST inclusive). That is the cost.

No transaction fees. No EFTPOS penalty fees. No per-terminal charges. No turnover limits. Your EFTPOS provider is your choice — we work with Tyro, Linkly, and others.

We also don’t lock you in. No minimum term. Cancel any time.

Transparent pricing shouldn’t be a differentiator. But in this market, it is.

See Tower’s pricing →

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What to Look For in POS Software for Your Type of Shop

May 9, 2026
3 Min read
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Choosing POS software feels like a big decision. And it is. The software you run in your shop touches nearly everything — sales, stock, customers, suppliers, reporting, stagey, compliance, and your online store.

Most retailers start by Googling “best POS software Australia.” The results show the same handful of platforms over and over. Most of them are built to work for any retailer, like, literally, any type of retailer.

That’s worth pausing on.

Generic doesn’t mean wrong — it means you’ll need workarounds

A generic POS handles the basics well: processing sales, tracking inventory, running reports. For a café or a clothing boutique that sells finished goods at fixed prices, that’s probably enough.

But if your shop sells items by weight, manages customer repairs, tracks serial numbers, handles second-hand goods, processes special orders, or connects to industry-specific suppliers — generic software starts to feel like wearing someone else’s shoes.

You make it work. But it doesn’t quite fit.

If your shop is not generic, why consider generic POS software?

What specialty software does differently

Software built for your specific type of business includes the tools your business actually uses, set up the way your business actually works.

For a jeweller, that means stone-level inventory management, valuation certificates, and repairs tracking with parts and labour. For a garden centre, it means selling by weight, managing plants that grow and change price, and printing weatherproof labels for outdoor stock. For a bike shop, it means workshop management, serial number tracking, and direct connection to Bike Exchange.

These aren’t add-ons. They’re built in.

The questions worth asking any POS vendor

  • Does it have specific features for my type of shop — or will I need to adapt generic tools?
  • Does it connect to the suppliers and buying groups I use?
  • Can it sell by weight, by the metre, or by fraction if I need it to?
  • Are there transaction fees on EFTPOS payments?
  • Are there fees per terminal or per location?
  • Is there a lock-in contract or minimum term?
  • Where is the support team based, and what hours are they available?
  • Can I see it running in a business like mine before I sign up?

What 40 years of working with independent retailers taught us

At Tower Systems, we’ve spent four decades building software for specific types of retail shops. Not all retail — specific retail. Jewellers. Newsagents. Garden centres. Bike shops. Pet shops. Fishing shops. Toy shops. Bookshops. And more.

Every vertical has tools built in that reflect how that business actually works. Not how a generic platform thinks it works.

If you run a specialty retail shop and your current software feels like a compromise, it might be time to look at what purpose-built actually means.

See the retail types we serve →

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